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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says historic 1964 First Amendment ruling on libel should be reconsidered; President Trump has contended that libel standards should be lowered to make it easier for public officials to sue news organizations. President Trump blasts Saturday Night Live satire about him and says TV network ‘should be looked into.’ Kentucky high school student at center of Lincoln Memorial confrontation sues Washington Post over its coverage. New Washington Post count puts President Trump’s false or misleading statements at 8,718 in 759 days. CNN faces pushback after hiring Republican operative for role in shaping political coverage. Federal judge orders Trump advisor Roger Stone back to court after Instagram post of the judge with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun near her head. Quartz looks into the amount of racist, white supremacist material available on Amazon’s book site. -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

The most pressing threats and notable goings-on in free expression today

U.S.

Justice Clarence Thomas Calls for Reconsideration of Landmark Libel Case
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called for reconsideration of a landmark First Amendment precedent, criticizing the 1964 decision that the Constitution creates a higher barrier for public figures to claim libel.CNN

‘It’s Called the First Amendment’: Pundits Decry Trump Call for ‘Retribution’ against ‘SNL’
Trump declared “Saturday Night Live” a “total Republican hit job” while calling for “retribution” and an investigation of the show after another unflattering portrayal of the president by Alec Baldwin. The actor responded by questioning whether the president’s words represented “a threat to my safety and that of my family.”USA TODAY

Teen in Lincoln Memorial Protest Sues Washington Post for $250 Million
A high school student from Covington, Kentucky, sued the Washington Post for defamation, claiming the newspaper falsely accused him of racist acts and instigating a confrontation with a Native American activist.REUTERS

Donald Trump Just Dropped Another Bomb in His War on Truth
According to the latest tabulations by The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, Trump has said 8,718 false or misleading things in his first 759 days in office. That’s roughly 11.5 lies or misleading statements a day.CNN

CNN Hires GOP Operative with No Journalism Experience to Coordinate Its 2020 Coverage
Sarah Isgur’s LinkedIn page indicates she has no journalism experience. She has, however, worked for a variety of right-wing organizations and campaigns, including the Carly Fiorina and Mitt Romney presidential bids, the Republican National Committee, and a Ted Cruz U.S. Senate campaign.VOX

Judge in Roger Stone Case Orders Hearing after He Appeared to Threaten Her on Instagram
A federal judge has demanded that Roger Stone explain why the conditions of his release and freedom to talk about the charges against him should not be changed after he posted an Instagram photo of that judge that included her name, a close-up of her face, and what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun sight near her head.WASHINGTON POST

There’s a Disturbing Amount of Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist Material on Amazon
“Amazon’s approach has been to patrol only certain sections of its sprawling business, leading to the somewhat paradoxical result of barring, say, a T-shirt emblazoned with a Nazi swastika, while selling a book promoting Nazi theories.”QUARTZ

Global

Egypt Turns Back Veteran New York Times Reporter
Egyptian officials detained a New York Times correspondent after he arrived in Cairo, holding him incommunicado for hours before forcing him onto a flight back to London without explanation.NEW YORK TIMES

Facebook Targeted in Scathing Report by British Parliament
A British parliamentary committee issued a scathing report accusing Facebook of breaking data privacy and competition laws and calling for new regulations to rein in the technology industry.NEW YORK TIMES

Thousands Decry Anti-Semitism in France after Spike in Attacks
Thousands of people rallied across France after a surge of anti-Semitic attacks in recent weeks that culminated on Tuesday with vandals daubing swastikas and anti-Jewish slogans on dozens of graves in a Jewish cemetery.REUTERS

How Artistic Freedom Is Restricted in Mexico
Government corruption, drug trafficking, and extreme levels of violence in Mexico have left their mark on the arts. As DW hands out its Freedom of Speech Award, here’s a look at the state of artistic freedom in the country.DW

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Cameroonian journalist Samuel Wazizi, who was arrested in August for criticizing the government's handling of a separatist revolt, has died in detention, rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said. Read more about it here: https://bit.ly/2UeRkIY

Mexicans have responded with outrage after a man was found beaten to death hours after he was arrested by police officers for not wearing a face mask in public. Anti-police protests erupted on Thursday in Guadalajara, the country’s second-largest city. https://bit.ly/2UeRcJu